Media registration open for the Advanced Breast Cancer Conference

Media can register now to attend the Advanced Breast Cancer Fourth International Consensus Conference (ABC4) in Lisbon, Portugal, Thursday 2 to Saturday 4 November 2017. Registration for bona fide journalists is free.

Despite major advances in the treatment of early breast cancer in the past decades, patients with advanced breast cancer face a poor prognosis and are under-served and largely forgotten [1]. There are no reliable figures for the numbers of women (and men) living with advanced breast cancer. However, there are over 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer a year in the world and 0.5 million deaths. About 5-10% of cases are either locally advanced or have spread to other parts of the body at diagnosis, and these figures can reach 80% in developing countries. About a third of all early breast cancer cases will become metastatic even with the best care, and the average overall survival for these patients is around two to three years.

The International Consensus Conference for Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) has established itself as a major international breast cancer conference. Its primary aim is the development of international consensus guidelines for the management of ABC patients. These guidelines are based on the most up-to-date evidence and can be used to guide treatment decision-making in many different health care settings globally, with the necessary adaptations due to different access to care. At the end of the 2017 conference, a group of world renowned Breast Cancer experts will agree on a new set of guidelines for the best treatment of ABC patients and these will be published subsequently in peer-reviewed journals [2]. These guidelines constitute the European and International guidelines for the management of these diseases and are widely used all over the world.

Over 1,200 participants from approximately 80 countries around the world will attend the conference, including health professionals and patient advocates. Sessions will include those on affordability and access to care, new treatments, new technologies and techniques, survivorship, supportive and palliative care, and patient advocacy.

The organisers of ABC4 welcome the interest of the media in breast cancer issues and are happy to provide full assistance to journalists who are attending the 2017 Lisbon conference or using the ABC website (http://www.abc-lisbon.org) as a resource in their coverage. A press office will be available for the use of accredited journalists, who can expect an interesting media programme. All the conference sessions will be open to journalists and experts will be available for interview.

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ABC Global Alliance

ABC4 will be followed by the first meeting of the ABC Global Alliance, established by the European School of Oncology. The Alliance is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and organisations interested in collaborating on common projects relating to ABC around the world, to develop, promote and support tangible improvements that will ultimately create awareness and actions that will improve and extend the lives of patients living with ABC worldwide. The meeting will take place in the same premises, in the afternoon of 4 November and morning of 5 November. Further information is available at http://www.abcglobalalliance.org

Social media

Follow updates, send questions and join in the discussions using #ABClisbon on Twitter and Facebook.

[1] Advanced breast cancer is defined as cancer that has spread beyond the site of the first (primary) tumour to other sites either within the same breast such as the skin, chest wall and some lymph nodes (locally advanced) or other parts of the body (metastatic cancer).

[2] ABC guidelines are jointly developed by ESO (European School of Oncology) and ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) and guidelines or ABC conferences have been endorsed and supported by several other international oncology organisations such as ESGO (European Society of Gynaecological Oncology), EUSOMA (European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists), ESTRO (European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology), UICC (Union Internationale Contre le Cancer), SIS (Senologic International Society) / ISS (International School of Senology), FLAM (Federacion Latino- Americana de Mastologia), OECI (Organization of European Cancer Institutes), Susan G. Komen and BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation). Furthermore, the ABC4 faculty includes official representatives from ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology).

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